(1) Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to closures and more particularly, to the secure lock closure of, for example, a safety closure via a child-resistant lock.
(2) Description of Related Art Industry Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
There is a need among known dispensers with product to be dispensed which require hands to open, typically with one hand to open a container, to provide a child resistant safety seal for example. A need exists for securely containing a product to be dispensed as squeezed from a container or dispersed from a container well, and the subsequent need to provide a cap opening which is safe for usage yet, for example, “child” resistant as well as tamper proof in closure, providing a secure seal yet easily accessible with a simple action such as flipping open with a finger while a hand gribs a container for example. There is often a risk a curious child could open a secure squeeze bottle opening a container, and ingesting the medications or other consumer product such as pills or fluids, a problem resolved by the disclosed invention. Elegance of design for consumer appeal, yet safety from little hands, or for that matter, safety for all consumers while achieving a secure structure with ease of use in opening, is an objective of the safety secure lock closure herein.
The lock top can be composed of a plastics such as polypropylene and other moldable materialto form the secure lock closure of the disclosed invention. Polypropylene can provide lightweight, resilient, hygienic, corrosion resistant structures with ease of molding and customization.
Polypropylenes provide functional performance and properties similar to conventional thermoset rubber products, but can be processed with the speed, efficiency and economy of thermoplastics.
In addition to simpler processing, principal advantages of polypropylenes compared to thermoset rubber products include easier recycling of scrap and closer, more economical control of dimensions and product quality.
Other benefits of polypropylenes include improved cost/performance, design flexibility, reduced weight, wide service temperature range, ease of processing, superior product quality and dimensional consistency and can be recycled in-house.
The disclosed invention can comprise structures, which can be molded or formed in varying ways for example, as thermoplastics for example, with linear, branched linear or branched molecular structures of varying molecular length. Variations in durometer i.e. hardness of structures of the disclosed invention can be achieved by composing polymer structures by varying polymer formation aspects of time and temperature at the time of curing, for example.
Other foreseeable materials can be utilized such, for example, plastics to mold or form the customizable structure of a secure top.
In one embodiment, a closure in conjunction with a flexible walled container is intended to dispense product, while providing a secure closure which is easy to use, yet resistant to tampering, for example, from a child or patient with Alzheimer's. The closure can be made in varying ways for example from injection-molded plastics such as polypropylene or other plastic material for ease of manufacture.
In one embodiment, the closure design disclosed provides the advantage of being secure from tampering by a child opening a closure inappropriately due to a novel molded structure with flexible locking pins or of a closure formed of pin and gating easily unlocked by knowledgeable hands accessing, a pin in a groove made from, polypropylene or other formation material comprising a cap and lock forming a secure juncture.
Material to be dispensed via the lock top can materially flow through a small opening such as an airway—for liquids, talc, or other foreseeable consumer materials.
As an alternative design, the lock top design can be molded or formed to allow the wall to which the locking pins connect at bottom to have an opening, the aperture through which pills or other material can flow through. The opening of the wall bottom to which locking pin or pins connect, for example, by molding with a variation in size, allows for dispensing pills based on the sizing of the opening of the wall bottom to which the locking pins extend from connecting to a cap which can be toggled and opened to allow pills to go through an opening based on size variation of an orifice for example formed or set at molding time, designed to meet, in one embodiment, Federal Child Safety Regulations, as well.
Another object of the closure invention disclosed is that it can be utilized for all types of products, under varying conditions, and for varying amounts of material for dispensing, by varying the customizable design for variations in container and material size or item.
An additional object of the closure in one embodiment is to provide flexibility of the cap hinging and locking with the design of the cover cap providing a passageway for dispensing, for example, liquids or particular matter while acting as an air passageway.
An object of the invention is that the lock top can be formed and assembled in several different ways and still achieve the same successful secure seal for dispensing selectively yet tamper proof to, for example, a child's tampering hands. From a separate molded piece, the lock top can be inserted on or inside a container, for example, and then the cap locked in place by in example embodiments, either moving a flexible hinge or hinging structure such as a strap engaging the cap top with a locking lip or lips of a vertical locking pin structure extending from the cap base structure or having a totally separate cap alternatively without a hinging structure relying on the cap to engage at least one of potentially several flexible locking pins extending from said cap structure. The injected molded lock top can also be co-injected or insert molded directly and formed on or into a nozzle, when used with compatible material, or just as easily screwed on, or snapped to snuggly hold to a container from an inner ring structure extending from the inner wall of the base structure.
Tamper-resistant to, a child's tampering for locking tops are disclosed in one embodiment, with varying embodiments providing various methods to make a one-piece tamper-resistant flip top dispensing closure which is part of a container or attachable to a container in alternative embodiments while conforming to Federal Guidelines for child safety.
Variant designs provide alternate locking methods developed. For example, as a “Squeeze N' Lift Double Lock Top” alternate variant embodiment, a secure locking method is provided of an appealing exterior appearance that is functionally secure yet aesthetically appealing. It is a goal of the disclosed invention to achieve, for example, a child-resistant packaging with a closure that cannot be opened by children or other tampering hands, but also allows seniors to successfully open and close the closure for dispensing from a packaging such as a container. The secure closure can, in one embodiment, foreseeably meet with criteria according to specific government guidelines for safety.
An achievement of the disclosed invention is an unique secure, tamper proof closure, as well as a coordinating container for selective sealing.
Another goal of the disclosed invention is to provide safety protection of the public, yet with coordination of the closure to customizable aperture dimensions for dispensing, providing the ability to control who can open the bottle via a flexion closure action disengaging a top cap from a lock, resisting tampering.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and by example, by the varying embodiments of the present invention disclosed.
These and other objects of the invention, which shall become hereinafter apparent are achieved by the Tamper Resistant Safety Locking Top.